Piper Super Cub Flight
During a recent return trip to Alberta, I was able to take in a quick morning flight with an old friend of dad’s. Although offered the chance to take the control, I elected to just sit back and enjoy the views as the controls were completely different than anything I had ever flown – the Piper Super Cub is an extremely light, back-to-back, stick controlled, tail dragger, making it a pretty tricky little plane to fly. It was a nice opportunity to simply enjoy the thrill of the flight without the high stress of training.
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- Piper Super Cub
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- Back to Back Cockpit
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- Landed in Camrose for lunch
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- Hastings Lake
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- Hastings Lake
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- The Bay in Front of the Cabin
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- The Cabin
This is the aircraft in which we transitioned – at Fort Sill, OK – from the Aeronca Chief in which we learned to fly, to the Cessna L-19 in which we completed training in 1951 before going into combat in Korea. This was the first plane we flew with flaps and electric starter. It taught us how to get in and out of short landing strips.
It is also the only airplane in which I was able to fly backwards. Over Oklahoma a 60mph west wind is not unusual at 3,000 ft. With 20 degrees flaps, throttle back a bit and we could actually fly backwards on the artillery firing range. Not a required maneuver, but something different.
I am re-living my flying days with you Travis, thoroughly enjoying your blog. There is no comparison between your flight training and mine. Google Aeronca and you can learn all about that little airplane.
Don
Thanks Uncle Don! Its been a heck of an adventure and harder than anything I have ever done in my life but its been well worth it!